[.ca] Reading the river: A voyage down the Yukon (ISBN 0299154947)

Unexpected Treasure:
A complete surprise. Much more than a travelogue or river guide. Excellent prose from a gifted writer. One of the best books I've read in years.

Sad but well written tour of the people on the Yukon:
A well written book; good primer for anyone planning a Yukon River trip, or anyone who just likes good adventure reading. Ride down the river with author in his canoe-with-motor and see Alaska through the eyes of a now-grown hippie returning to Alaska to find the self he left behind years before.

Loved it, a book about people.:
I bought this book looking for books about the Yukon river for planning a trip to navigate it. I did not find that kind of detail although he does generaly describes the river. But I was happily surprised by the book. I like to describe it as a book about people. Many people have this dream of moving up North, well in this book, you realize many people actually did it... with different consequences and realizations. The author was more than a passer-by going down the Yukon, he took the time to stop, talk, and spend time with people who he describes and tell tales. I also think he is a good writer and it got me to laugh more than a few times. There is only one thing I did not like in this book (all in one page) and it's the description of an encouter a woman had with a grizzly where he then completes by saying something like: "Why did the bear attack that woman (out of the four campers present) is a mystery" and then he makes a comment about woman and bears.... well, maybe it was because she was the only one who got up (everyone else was sleeping) and she attracted the bear's attention. Great book, loved it, a book about people.

Excellent. A marvel of a tale.:
Having once been an Alaskan traveler myself, I found myself slightly skeptical before plucking this tattered book off the shelf. Everything I'd read of modern Alaska seemed wrong, off-key, and too liberal or too commercialized. But after skimming through a few pages, I was hooked. Never before have I found such wonderful, accurate descriptions of the land, its people, and the emotional tracks it leaves on a person. Somehow, I assumed I was alone in my journeys and my memoirs of Alaska, and unable to share them with people. Here is a man who has weaved together a beautiful adventure, honest and simple. I felt as though I was reading a diary of my own excursions in the North. Reading the River is definitely one of the best books I have ever read. I recommend it to anyone who has ever wondered what draws people away from the city, for those living in the city who craves the wild, and to every dreamer, explorer, and 'old-timer'.

A "coming of middle age" adventure down the Yukon:
Hildebrand takes you from Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, across into Alaska, to the Arctic Circle at Fort Yukon, and through nearly the whole state of Alaska as he canoes down the Yukon River. Along the way you meet ordinary people with legendary stories of the intense lonliness of winter, of bear attacks, of battles with the US and Alaskan state governments, and of survival. You also get a glimpse into John's recently failed marraige, his life in Fairbanks, and his abandoned homestead near Denali National Park. Even for those who don't own SUVs or long to take on a thousand-mile canoe trip, this book is an intellectual adventure well worth the price of admission.